Ailemea Smiled: Part Three

The tiny blue Xweetok clung to the teenager’s shoulder as she was carried into the large empty neohome. It had been a few weeks since she had been hatched, and they had been living in the Neolodge. Now, the owner carried her into their new home. The little Xweetok looked around in awe and slowly slid down her owner’s arm and began to pad around tentatively. She constantly glanced back to see her owner still standing there, smiling down at her. Finally, the girl came and picked her up once more, cradling her affectionately. “Do you like it, Ailemea?” she whispered. “It’s alll yours!”

Ailemea smiled.

The Skunk Poogle followed me uncertainly around the bottom floor. First, I showed her the guest bedroom. She grimaced unpleasantly at the horrible decorating. “Are you trying to scare away your guests?” she asked.

      “I’m glad you get the idea – you really are part of the family!” I said cheerfully. She rolled her eyes. To my surprise, she didn’t like the pool as much as some do. She glowered at the lawn chairs.

      “I won’t be getting any calm with splashing and screaming here,” she muttered. It was my turn to roll my eyes.

      “No one splashes and screams. Jeanie won’t let Nexy near the water, and Isaerios and I are much too dignified to splash,” I informed her.

      “What about Oreh?” I gave her a ‘You’re kidding right?’ look and she nodded with a ‘yeah I get it’ look.. He is, after all, a robot.

      After I didn’t push her into the pool, Mhyme was no longer suspicious. I introduced her to my – sorry, our sitting room, and then my office, and she was walking confidently behind me. I showed her into the game room in between Isaerios’s mirror room and my office. We only glanced in.

      “It isn’t finished,” I explained, exiting once more. She nodded as if that made sense. After I had shown the entire second floor – basically now Shuibee, Isaerios’s, Mhyme’s, and my floor – I led her upstairs to where we saw Nexy and Kasinnia disappearing. We stomped up the stairs and I asked her about the blue Chomby.

      “I don’t really know her either,” she admitted. “In fact, she was only with us for a day or so before Jeanie started moving us in. Elaine came with her. She was really sad at first, and she had a sort of sense of betrayal about her. But she was a hard worker and was nice, so we accepted her.” I nodded and we entered Nexy and Jeanie’s library.

      It was rather empty of course, seeing as every time they read a book it burst into smoke, but there were a few books that both had dismissed as ‘soooo boring’. We strolled through Nexy’s playroom and into the nursery. The nursery was connected to Jeanie’s bedroom with a bathroom, easy access for late-night cries. Kasinnia was cooing to Nexy as she rocked his brightly colored cot. In the corner was a large blue playpen which I guessed would be her bed when she was finally painted into a baby Chomby.

      “Where do you sleep?” I asked curiously as Trohanex closed his eyes and began to breathe gently and slowly. She glanced up and smiled at me. After she made sure that Nexy was asleep she held a toe to her lips and then nodded at the playroom. The three of us entered in silence.

      “I just sleep beside the crib,” she said with a shrug, closing the nursery door behind her. “It is a cloud room after all, and it is easier to take care of him if he cries.”

      “What’ll we do when you’re a baby?” I asked with a smile. She grinned too.

      “I think none of you will get sleep for a while,” she said. “They say the trauma of the change itself is horrible enough to keep you awake for weeks and you just can’t help sobbing all the time. Some never get over it.” I shook my head – the girl seemed excited!

      “I just thought I should warn you,” I said seriously. “Nexy has an evil side. You need to watch your back.”

      Kasinnia’s eyes gleamed. “We’ll see.”

      Mhyme and I shuddered in unison. After a quick good night we went to find Jeanie already falling into bed. She smiled at us tiredly before dragging her Latin textbook to bed with her. The two of us went downstairs to our room.

      As Mhyme began to prepare for bed, I looked around in surprise. Haelee had curled up in her basket and Teagy was curled up beside her. I guess he still hadn’t gotten used to Selia the Angelpuss yet.

      “Where is your petpet?” I asked Mhyme. She looked up from pulling her blankets back.

      “Suki? Oh, I’m sure she’s around here somewhere. She is probably just looking around. She knew every crack and corner of the Neolodge by the time we left.” I nodded and then glanced at Mhyme’s bed with distaste. Peanut Bed. Honestly. Her Spyder Wardrobe was worse, however. With a sigh, I climbed into my Beauty Bed.

      “Good night, Mhyme.”

      “Good night, Aile.” We lay in quiet for a while.

      “Haelee?” I whispered. With a grunt, the Ditsy heaved herself out of the basket and ran around the room, turning off the lights. Contentedly we sank luxuriously into sleep.

     *****

      “Psst! Aile!” a voice broke into my dreams and I mumbled something. “Aile! Wake up!” I grunted and rolled over, still sleeping. “Ugh – you stupid Xweetok,” the voice muttered, and then something firmly pulled the fur on my lower back. With a shriek, I crashed out of bed. A paw was instantly covering my mouth. I blinked and looked at Mhyme sternly glaring into my eyes.

      “Mubudooba?” I asked through her paw.

      “Huh?” she asked. I shoved away her paw.

      “What do you want?”

      “Do you often have burglars in the middle of the night?” We both paused and listened to the silence of the sleeping house. Haelee crawled slowly out of her basket and flicked on a lamp. I picked her up.

      Something crashed downstairs and we flinched.

      “Just ignore it. We’re safe up here,” I whispered. I was remembering a bump in the night from not too long ago. And an ugly baby Bruce.

      “What about Oreh and Kele? (Say it Kelly)” Mhyme demanded. I sighed. She had me there.

      “Whatever, I’ll check it out.”

      “Shouldn’t we wake Jeanie?” the mime asked. I glanced at her condescendingly.

      “Do you know what time it is?”

      “One or two in the morning is my guess,” was her reply. I rolled my eyes.

      “Trust me – no one is going to be able to wake her up,” I said, and started out the door. I found Shuibee and Isaerios at the top of the stairs waiting for me. A tired Angelpuss stood on Shuibee’s head, glaring down the stairs. Haelee and Teagy had returned to bed indifferently.

      “You going down?” Isaerios asked solemnly. I nodded.

      “You sure it is safe?” Shuibee asked with concern. I glanced at him.

      “That is why I’m going to check, isn’t it?” Mhyme glared at me and stood beside him defensively. Ignoring them both, I hurried down the stairs.

      There was another crash from the guest room and I silently slunk into the room. Two shadows were trying in vain to pick up the pineapple bed. I watched with interest as they lifted it, held it for a few seconds, then dropped it with a loud crash. I smirked.

      Backing out of the room, I went to find the front door with a clean hole sawed through it. I rolled my eyes. So much for that extra security. I saw the Buzz lines standing across the door almost invisibly. In a second.

      I hurried around the house to Oreh – and now Kelesari’s – bedroom. They were both standing against the door to the bathroom, looking horrified. (The bathroom is shared by the guest bedroom.) I gestured to them to follow me. Uncertainly, we all left the room, Oreh carrying Pants Mcgee.

      After sending them upstairs, I went to the front door and tripped the alarm. Then, plugging my ears, I dashed at full speed through the house and back up the stairs. I barely made it before a steel wall crashed down behind me. All around the house I heard identical walls covering windows and doors. They’d be trapped until the Buzz Squad came.

      “Back to bed, everyone,” I said with a yawn. Jeanie came stumbling down the stairs, eyes wide in horror and her hair looking bedraggled. Nexy was wailing on Kassinia’s back behind her.

      “What’s going on? Are Oreh and Kelly trapped down there?” she demanded. I pointed out the Flotsam and Blumaroo standing wearily at the top of the stairs. She sighed with relief. “Okay then. Back to bed then. You two can sleep with me – Pants Mcgee can sleep with Haelee.” We all went our separate ways, returning to our bedrooms.

      “That was rather cool,” Mhyme admitted as she climbed into her horribly unfashionable Peanut Bed. I smiled and climbed into mine.

      “I am rather talented, aren’t I?” I said smugly, watching Haelee, Teagy, and Pants Mcgee pile into the petpet basket. With a grunt of disgust, Mhyme collapsed into sleep. I flicked off the lamp beside my bed and lay down as well.

      I fell asleep with the sound of yells and pounding downstairs, smiling pleasantly.

To be continued...